1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to housewares and, more particularly, to an insulated vessel for use in serving hot or cold materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Insulated vessels having a large top opening and a removable cover most commonly are used as ice buckets. As such, the materials of construction and the type of inner liner is of little significance since water, i.e., ice, is a substantially inert substance and can be removed by the mere swipe of a towel. However, if one chooses to utilize an insulated container in a more versatile manner as for serving soups, stews, casseroles or other hot items, it becomes necessary to consider ways to facilitate the manner of using, maintaining and cleansing the vessel.
Insulated serving vessels that have removable liners either subject the insulation to contamination or the liner fits loosely within the casing of the vessel thereby making it hazardous to use with hot materials. When transporting, for instance, a hot soup in a removable liner, it has been a problem in that the liner would be unstable and shift around within the casing thereby causing spillage and the like. This is especially onerous in that some of the materials may spill between the liner and casing and contaminate any existing insulation materials and/or cause significant corrosion or sanitary problems.